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Maps on Your Cell Phone without GPSJames Wiegel, CUGGNovember 2006 |
Over
the last few years I've become
increasingly dependant on my cell-phone. It's my ONLY phone! Many
people are
like me in that respect. It's rare that I ever call someone's home
phone these
days, assuming that the even have one!
I've
had a cell-phone for 10 years now. I've never been
concerned about getting one with a thousand bells and whistles that
I'll never
really use. I've just wanted something rugged enough that it wouldn't
break if
I looked at it funny. For me it's a tool, not a toy.
A Recent job compelled me to get a
new tool. I spent a
lot of time out in the field, away from a computer. My schedule was
constantly
changing, there were dozens of contacts to keep up with, and I can't
find my
way out of a wet paper sack without a map! With all of these needs
combined I
felt compelled to step into the 21st century.
I researched phones for several days,
specifically for GPS technology... funny thing is that t-mobile doesn't
really
USE it, but I still needed to keep my life organized, and know that my
phone
and PC would be able to synchronize the contacts etc. I finally
narrowed my
selection down to a hand full of phones, including the blackberry 7105t
that I
finally selected.
When I discovered that Google has
a free application for
phones (like the blackberry), I was overjoyed! The application
leverages the
power of maps.google.com with real-time traffic conditions (for
inner-city
interstate roads), and turn by turn directions.
Visit http://www.google.com/gmm
for more info.
Surprisingly, the very same device
that I had avoided
because it would keep me in constant contact with my work life, has
also freed
me up to go anywhere with little fear of being lost, or unable to find
services
that I would need. Even though I don't NEED the email and internet
features of
my phone now, I have grown quite fond of them. Are Google maps worth
$20 per
month for the internet access plan? Hmm... So far it is.